Dancing with the Devil
by RenaeChan77
Summary: Trapped within the confines of his religious father's expectations, Ciel Phantomhive would do anything to be free. To live. Even if it risked his very soul. But dancing with the devil is a dangerous game, especially while being immersed in sin.


Pale hands adjusted the tie around his neck quickly before going back to their places on the arm rest of the large chair. He knew his father would scold him if he fidgeted too much while sitting in front of congregation, but he couldn't help it. Ciel just wasn't good with crowds or people in general. Even though he was the son of the most famous bishop in the city, Vincent Phantomhive, he was much more introverted and kept to himself.

Though his body was still, his sapphire eyes scanned over the hundreds of people gathered in the large church. His gaze stopped on his father's back as read aloud from a bible where he was standing a few feet away. Although he could clearly hear the scripture that was being read, very few of the words actually sank in. The young man's mind wandered like it usually did at times like this.

What was he doing here?

Why was he required to come here every week?

But he knew that such a thing was expected of him, especially after being raised in a extremely Catholic family for twenty years. Not to mention the fact that his mildly over-bearing and demanding father happened to be a bishop that expected him to follow in his holy footsteps. Ciel couldn't help rolling his eyes at the very thought. As if that was ever going to happen.

Even if Ciel did believe in God, (Well, kinda. There's got to be something out there, right? Right?) he didn't appreciate all of the spiritual salvation and other holy crap that his father spit at him every day. Although he knew that some of it was true, he couldn't help questioning all of it sometimes.

The grayish-blunette snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed the people talking lightly to themselves as they started to leave for the day. Had he really spaced out for that long? He tried to look alert as his father turned to him and headed in his direction.

"How was that, Ciel?" he asked.

"Excellent as always, Father." the young man answered with a forced smile.

Whoops, there goes a lie. Guess he was going to hell now. The thought almost made him chuckle but he contained himself.

Vincent gave a relieved sigh and smiled. "I'm glad you were paying so close attention. You have to start learning as soon as you can. Just think, one day it'll be you standing up in front of the people, teaching of the Lord's works and good word."

Ciel merely smiled. He wanted so badly to tell his father that he had no intention of such a thing, but he wasn't ready for the impending shit storm that would happen as a result. As if he would ever reveal _that _at confession*.

* * *

Ciel pulled his bowler hat down lower on his head to shield more of his face as he walked past another street lamp. Being recognized in such a seedy place wouldn't be the greatest thing, although he doubted that any of the dwellers of this area had even stepped foot in a church their entire lives, so he had little risk of being recognized.

Even so, it was wise to be cautious, especially when in London's East End.

The young man turned sharply down a side street and was bathed in the dim light that glowed from the old bar. He quickly opened the door and slid inside like a disappearing specter, leaving the cold street mildly empty again.

A wave of light noise and chatter washed over him immediately, and his azure eyes scanned over the room for any people that had a chance of knowing his true identity.

All of the bar's inhabitants seemed to be the usual old drunks of the broken down neighborhood, with the exception of the few new poor souls that had stumbled in to waste away what little money they had. He scowled slightly at how happy they seemed as they drank their lives away without a care, envious of how they could live as they wanted. Even though everyone in the room was probably ten times poorer than he, Ciel was jealous of the freedom that they had. A freedom that he'd desperately wanted for so long.

"Ah, nice to see you here again, John." a voice chirped.

Ciel hesitated slightly before remembering that John was the alias he went under whenever he was in East End. He inwardly sighed when he realized the voice that had spoken to him and turned to the pair of emerald eyes that were looking at him intently.

"And the same to you, Elizabeth." he forced himself to say politely. He really didn't care for this woman, but the waitress always found a way to seek him out. Not wanting to have to look at her large and slightly uneven smile for any longer, Ciel pretended to see someone he knew and excused himself quickly. He was glad to have escaped without having her poorly kept claws on him. With a tip of his hat to the bartender, Ciel sat down on one of the wobbly stools.

"Evening, Bard." he said.

The dirty-blonde man grinned through the cigarette hanging out of his mouth and nodded a greeting in return. "Your usual glass of Scotch, John?" he asked.

Ciel gave a quick nod and rubbed his eyes tiredly while Bard made his drink. As his fingers wrapped around the cool glass, a faint smile graced his lips at the irony. A bishop's son, drinking his troubles away in a dodgy bar on the bad side of town. He felt a slight bit of victory at being able to do at least _something_ against his father's wishes, even if it was secretly in the dead of night. Even if it was only for a few hours, the strong alcohol only elated his brief sense of freedom further.

* * *

Slightly slurred swear words tumbled out of Ciel's mouth as he trenched through the dark alleyway. So perhaps he'd overdone it just a tiny bit tonight. He wasn't fall-on-your-face-in-the-gutter drunk, just tipsy. Very tipsy. The young man froze when he though he'd heard a noise in the shadows ahead of him. After a few seconds of silence, he brushed it off as just a stray cat or something and continued on his way. His pocket watch informed him that it was nearing two in the morning, so he hastened his steps. Once again, Ciel swore that he heard something. This time it sounded strangely like a deep, velvety chuckle.

"You seem a bit lost…" a rich bass called out.

Ciel squinted in the slight darkness, trying to make out the other person. He looked to where the voice seemed to be coming from, but could only see something red glimmering. Who in their right mind had left a pair of rubies sitting out in the alley? It was with a jolt that he realized that the red figures weren't jewels, but a pair of deep red eyes.

His alcohol-numbed mind couldn't even comprehend the thoughts yelling at him that there was something off about the situation and that he should turn on his heels and get the heck out of there. But Ciel's sense of danger had melted away with every glass of Scotch he'd consumed, and he found himself crossing his arms haughtily.

"And just who are you to tell me I'm lost? I know dese streets better than you!" he slurred.

The voice remained silent at that. Ciel squinted, and he could have sworn he saw a pair of fangs peeking out in a grin. _'I need to get myself together. What if this guy tries to rob me or somethin?'_ he thought to himself. The young man tried to sober himself up and think straight. He needed to get home before anyone noticed he was missing. And get away from this stranger.

Speaking of which, Ciel glanced back up at where the stranger had been lurking and was surprised to see that the ruby orbs had disappeared. A bit of fear coursing through him for the first time, he hurriedly backed out of the alley.

Ciel never thought that he'd ever be so happy to be back at the church when he reached it half an hour later. _'This will be one of the few times that I'll actually say, "Thank God."' _

By now, Ciel was terribly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lay down and try to sleep away the hangover that he would be undoubtedly be having tomorrow. He made his way to his large estate that was connected to the church, and hesitated when he noticed a dark figure leaning against the stained glass doors.

"Don't these people ever go home? Is He that important that you have to loiter around the church at obscene hours of night?" he grumbled under his breathe with a sigh. Even with his annoyance, he tried to maintain a neutral demeanor as he approached the person. It wouldn't look good to have the bishop's son starting fights in front of the church.

"Excuse me, sir. The church isn't open yet, and no one is allowed to loiter in front of it at this time. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." he said in forced politeness.

The person didn't move, but him speaking next put a chill in Ciel's bones.

"Oh? The church doesn't have time for a poor sinner like me?"

Ciel immediately stepped back as he recognized the voice from the alleyway. Had the stranger followed him back here? And if he had, how did he arrive here before Ciel? Did the stranger know where he was going already? Ciel's blood ran cold at the idea that someone from the East End knew who he really was.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded. He tried to let his anger mask the slight tremble of fear in his voice.

The tremble didn't go unnoticed by the stranger. Yes, fear. How he loved to manipulate fear.

"I go by many names and aliases. But in this world, I am known as Sebastian." he said.

Ciel stared at him, swallowing hard. He didn't know anyone by that name, but perhaps he would be able to recognize him by face.

"Come on out of the shadows and show me who you are." he said.

A light chuckle came from Sebastian. "No one knows who I really am, but I suppose I can show you one of my many forms."

Ciel's face scrunched into confusion at his words, but he watched as Sebastian relinquished his place against the door and came to stand in front of him.

Those same dark red eyes that rivaled the wine they drank regularly stared back at him. He could now see the pale but beautiful face that accompanied them, all accented by the dark locks of hair that fell on either side of his face. Ciel's breath caught in his lungs when Sebastian smirked down at him, and he tried to play it off with a cough, looking away pointedly.

He had never seen this person before. If he had, he would have definitely remembered it.

"Why did you follow me all the way here? What do you want?" he asked.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at him, but decided to humor him by answering.

"Because, young Phantomhive, I know everything that you desire. And I'm the only one that can give it to you."

Ciel froze when Sebastian uttered his name. He tried to calm himself. Perhaps he was just overreacting and the man had simply dropped by the church once or twice and seen him. Still, the thought of Sebastian_ accidentally_ letting his nighttime activities slip to one of their church patrons scared him. In a place like this, word got around fast, and there was no doubt in his mind that it would somehow get to his father. Ciel needed to figure out what this guy wanted from him and make sure he would keep quiet.

"What? What are you talking about?" the young man asked incredulously. What could this stranger possibly know about him? About his desires?

"I know that you hate this place with every fiber of your being. And that although your father has dreams of you taking his place as bishop one day, you have absolutely no intention of doing so. You're trapped here. And you would do anything to get out."

Ciel stared at him, his blood freezing in his veins.

"Fortunately for you, I can provide such an escape."

"H-how?" the young man asked. The pounding of his heart in his chest only proved how scared he was at that moment, but the idea of being freed from this holy prison that he'd found himself in was more pressing. A part of him thought that this all seemed like a bad idea, like some kind of trap, but an even bigger part of himself knew that this could very well be his only way out.

Sebastian smirked in response and stepped closer to him. "I can show you all of the things that you've never experienced. Fun things, though all of them forbidden. Once it's over, you'll be free."

"And what are you asking for in return?"

"Only your soul. But when you're living a dull and unfulfilling life like this, what does your soul matter to you anyways? Would you rather be forced to stay in this holy waltz led by your father? Or explore a side of yourself that you've never even seen before? Come on, Ciel." he said, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Dance with the devil."

As you can see, I've come out with another SebasCiel story! Thank you for reading~ And I promise that I will be updating my other SebasCiel fic soon, I apologize for the rather long hiatus that I've been on. I should be back to posting regularly.

~ Renae

*I am not Catholic, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes I may make in terms of things that Catholics do, rituals, etc. However, I will try my best to research things before I add them in there. If I misinterpret anything, feel free to let me know. Thank you.


End file.
